Barter to the Cause Does cutting costs sound like a good start-up idea? Read on for 5 tips to help you save money by bartering.

Almost every start-up expert tells you to barter to savemoney-but very few actually tell you how to realistically usebartering to reduce costs. We went to Bob Meyer, publisher ofBarterNews Magazine, to get the skinny on this oft-mentionedstart-up strategy.

• Know the difference betweendirect barter and exchange barter. Direct barter meansto swap your product or service for the product or service of yourvendor. Exchange barter is when you're part of a barter groupwith other businesses, and each business earns "tradedollars" that can be exchanged for needed items.

• Don't believe themisconception that you'll somehow get shady productsor services in barter.

• Do your homeworkon any barter exchange you plan to join. Check outwww.barternews.com for information on exchanges in your area.

• Realize that what you barteraway has value to you, says Meyer.

• Check out these other barterresources for more details: the International ReciprocalTrade Association (www.irta.com)or the National Association of Trade Exchanges (www.nate.org).